Video of Footballer Erling Haaland Being Startled by His Reflection Is AI

We found out that the video is AI-generated.

An AI-generated video is being shared on the internet, falsely claiming to show footballer Erling Haaland startled by his own reflection. 

(Source: Instagram/Screenshot)

A video claiming to show Norwegian footballer Erling Haaland startled by his own reflection is circulating online. 

• The video shows the footballer eating and getting caught off guard by his own reflection in the mirror.

An archived version of this claim can be found here. 

(Source: Instagram/Screenshot)

(Archived versions of similar claims can be found here, here, and here)

Is it true?: No, the video is AI-generated and does not show authentic footage of footballer Haaland being startled by his own reflection.

How did we find out?: We ran a reverse image search on the video using Google Lens and could not find any credible sources that shared it.

• Following this, we ran the video through DeepFake-O-Meter, an AI detection tool, which showed that four detectors flagged the viral clip as being AI-generated.

Here are the results for DeepFake-O-Meter.

(Source: DeepFake-O-Meter/Screenshot)

• During reverse image search, we found an Instagram account, geowiredaily, that posted a video of Chinese comedian Jin Long performing a comedic skit with the same expressions and movements as the viral claim.

• The account stated that the video of footballer Haaland is an AI face-swap.

The video posted by geowiredaily. 

(Source: Instagram/Screenshot)

• We ran a reverse image search on the video of Jin Long from the post and found numerous accounts sharing the same video.

• The videos were shared around 18 June 2026, long before the video of Haaland was shared.

The original video of Jin Long. 

(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

Conclusion: The video is AI-generated and does not show authentic footage of footballer Haaland being startled by his own reflection.

(Not convinced of a post or information you came across online and want it verified? Send us the details on WhatsApp at 9540511818 , or e-mail it to us at [e-mail] and we'll fact-check it for you. You can also read all our fact-checked stories here.)